Fly Away in The Morning Glow
by Wings Of Ash
Summary: Feeling safe can lead to vulnerability........


_Fly Away In The Morning Glow_

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, nor any of the brand names mention the the story below, but if I did, well, that would just be cool.

It had been a long day. Kagome had returned to the feudal era completely exhausted. There was a major test in every single one of her classes and she couldn't wait to return so she could relax a little. There had been no sign of Naraku for quite some time and everyone was enjoying their down time. Even Inu Yasha seemed more calm and peaceful lately. He didn't once complain when she told him she needed to go back to her era for some tests and supplies (possibly because she bribed him with "Ninja Food"). But after what she saw on her way back to Kaede's village, she doubt she would be able to.

She had come back a whole day early because she missed everyone so much. She was hoping that she could surprise with her sudden appearance, but it was highly unlikely since the dog hanyou had such a great nose. He always knew when she was approaching. But that wouldn't stop her from trying.

Out of the well she hopped, huge yellow bag in tow, and began her way to the village. She entered the forest. She had always loved that forest. It was so different from where she was from. Truth be told, she loved the double life she led, just for the scenery. It was so peaceful and untouched. Unlike the concrete jungle she was use to living in.

She slowed her pace and enjoyed the view. The noises of the forest surrounded her. But then she heard a noise, not naturally from the forest. They were voices. Human voices. The voices of a man, and a woman.

Toward the voices she walked, curiosity spiked. She knew she shouldn't have been eavesdropping, but she couldn't help it. She hid behind a tree, not wanting to bee seen. She waited and listened for a moment. The voices continued on with whatever they had been talking about previously. Kagome tuned out the words they were saying and tried to see if she could figure out who was saying them, without coming out of her hiding place. The male voice rose in volume.

She immediately knew whom that voice belonged to.

It was Inu Yasha. But who was he with? The female voice also rose in volume...saying something about not needing any help. The two argued for a while more. It didn't take long for Kagome to realize that the female voice belonged to her rival miko, Kikyo. Soon, she also realized that they were talking about none other than herself, the girl hiding behind the tree.

Kikyo was saying things about how they didn't need her. How she wasn't supposed to be there, and that she was disrupting the flow of time. Kagome waited.

She waited for InuYasha to come to her defence. But no such sound came from his mouth. It was true, although he wasn't agreeing with what Kikyo was saying, he wasn't denying it either.

Normally, she would have run. Run back to her own era with tears in her eyes and a rip in her heart. But she was tired of running. No, she wouldn't run. She wouldn't take the coward's way out again. Yes, it hurt her to know that after all they had been through, he wouldn't even defend her as her friend, but she could take it. She would just pretend that nothing was wrong. That was why she took acting in her early high schooling right?

She turned, picked up her bag, and continued on her way to the village, taking a longer route. Going the normal way would have led her right near the two. And even though she wouldn't run, she didn't want to deal any more damage than had already been dealt.

* * *

Reaching the edge of the village, Kagome took a look around. It all looked so peaceful. The sun was setting in the west. The water held the sun's reflection, casting an orange glow over everything the light touched. She could feel the serenity all around her. Nothing drastic had changed since she left. She always liked that. 

In her world the technology was always changing, but here everything remained the same, at least for time being.

She walked into Kaede's hut with a smile on her face, and was greeted with warm smiles from her wonderful friends. It didn't matter how long she had been away, a day, a week a year, they were always happy to see her. Shippo was the first to speak.

"Kagome! You're back! What did you bring me?" Shippo cried bounding around her ankles. His childlike innocence always made her smile. He reminded her so much of herself when she was younger as her father went away on business. He always went somewhere exotic and would bring her and Souta back wonderful presents. Kagome still had the small boomerang he brought her from his trip to Australia.

She handed Shippo the small packet of pop rocks. He gave her a look that said '_This is it?'_, but his curiosity got the better of him and he tore into the package. Dropping some in his hand and shoving the whole handful into his mouth.

His reaction was immediate. The popping sounds could be heard even though his mouth was closed. Eyes widened in both panic and fascination. His laughter rang out.

For Miroku, she brought some cans of pop. Every kind she could think of: Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Mountain Dew, Sprite, Mellow Yellow, Sierra Mist, and multiple flavors of Crush. Thanking her, he opened one. She had never brought him this many varieties before and he was anxious to try a new one.

She had brought Sango some wonderful smelling shampoo and conditioner and a bottle of hot pink nail polish. Kagome had seen it in the store and instantly thought of the demon slayer girl in her black and hot pink battle outfit. She could see Sango examining the bottle, wondering what the heck was inside of it.

"It's nail polish," she explained. "You unscrew the cap and paint it on your nails," she held up her own hand, revealing nails that were painted a brilliant metallic green, "See?"

Sango was just about to ask Kagome something about her gift, when InuYasha came in through the little flap. The room went silent. Kagome looked up and met his gaze. She couldn't see the familiar glow in his eyes, the one that made her heart forget to beat whenever she caught his stare. It was no longer there. Now he looked at her with a mixture of hurt… and something else she couldn't tell. She looked away no longer able to face him, the fear of breaking down and running tugged on the edges of her mind.

The tension floated around the room like a thick fog. Kagome groaned inwardly…the tension could be cut with a knife. She took a few deep breaths and calmed herself, sitting down infront of the fire, strategically placing herself between Sango and Kaede.

"Kagome! Wh-What are you doing back so soon?" he asked, taking a seat across from her. She refused to look him in the eye, fearing that the hurt and betrayal she felt was still lingering in her gaze. She had to keep it together, if acting class had taught her nothing else it taught her to bottle her emotions, and she'd be damned if she'd let this beat her.

"I missed everyone so much that I decided to come back a little early. I finished the test yesterday and saw no point in hanging around my house alone." She told him, looking up at him, her gaze intense. She was not going to let him beat her…Not ever.

* * *

Kagome sighed. This day was turning out to be the longest day she had ever spent in the feudal era. It was, normally, the thing she loved the most about Inu Yasha's time. When she was here time seemed to slip away and she was content to just spend countless hours, talking with Sango and Miroku, or playing with Shippou or picking herbs with Kaede. Inu Yasha had even begun, as of late, to carry Kagome with him on his back through one of his countless runs through the forest. 

It was in the hopes that he would take her on one of those runs that Kagome had returned a day early. She had been eager to surprise him and had hoped that upon her return, it would be Inu Yasha who found her at the well and she thought she could convince him to take her on one of his runs without letting the other know she was there.

Kagome closed her eyes and leaned back into the shade of the hut. She sighed remembering the last time he had taken her on one of his runs. She loved the feeling of the wind blowing in her face, as he raced through the woods dodging branches and roots. The way the wind blew his hair back into her face throwing at her the scent of autumn, the scent of Inu Yasha. She mostly loved how at peace she felt when he ran with her on his back, his grip never loosening but always holding her steady. She always felt, at those times, that if something tried to tear her away from him, he would never let her go.

'How wrong was I…' Kagome thought to herself bitterly, shattering the memory before her.

"Hey! Kagome!" He was calling at her from his perch in the old tree over looking the village. "What's wrong?"

'I can't handle this…I just can't…' Kagome pleaded with herself sitting up and leaning over and gripping her stomach. 'but I have too…' She took a few deep breaths and opened her pack and began unrolling her sleeping bag.

"Nothing Inu Yasha…Just some stuff at home." She continued to unroll her sleeping bag not looking at him as she hollered back her reply. 'Please…Let it be enough…Do not ask me again…I couldn't take it…' She silently pleaded with him to just let her be, and surprisingly he didn't question her.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she thanked her one stroke of good luck that day and lay back on her bag looking up at the sky as night began to fall. She only hoped that tomorrow things would get easier.

* * *

Kagome tossed and turned fretfully as Kikyo's words flew back to her. 

"We don't need her, Inu Yasha… she is harming the delicate balance of time…_She doesn't belong here…_"Her words stung…even recalling them brought back a feeling sharper and more painful tear in her heart. But while Kikyo's words had merely scratched the surface of her heart… it was Inu Yasha's silence that had broken her heart and shattered her soul.

That silence surrounded her now, as Kikyo's words faded from her mind…the silence surrounded…clouding and choking her…consuming.

Kagome woke up breathing heavily, glad to be out of the nightmare. Sounds of the night reached her ears and breached the silence that had surrounded her…calming her down if only slightly.

She felt the sudden need to walk…to get away from the hut where memories of Inu Yasha plagued her still…a need to seek the calm she felt only within the forest…with Inu Yasha at her side.

The navy sky was alight with twinkling stars and a crescent moon hung above her head, lighting her path. She could see the nocturnal woodland creatures scurrying across her path watching her every move. She walked on, a new, fear taking her over.

There would be no Inu Yasha to come and save her this time…after all, 'She didn't belong here,' she thought to herself bitterly as she recalled Kikyo's harsh words once again. The snap of a twig brought her out of her bitter day dreams. She looked around for anyone behind her. No one.

She walked at a little faster of a pace. She could hear the tree's rustling with an invisible wind. Or was that her stealthy follower, running through the tree tops, preparing for an aerial assault? She immediately stopped, and looked up. Once again, no one could be found. She looked around for the nearest thing she could use as a weapon.

A small, thick stick was lying right near her feet. She picked it up and held it in front of her. 'Great,' she thought, 'I'll beat the next youkai that attacks me to death with a stick…'

"Alright, come out whoever you are! I warn you! I have a weapon!" she shouted into the quiet night, hoping to scare her follower away.

"I seriously doubt that you could do any damage to anything with that stick, let alone me", came the cocky reply. Out from the trees leaped InuYasha, and he gracefully landed right in front of her, that stupid smug grin of his plastered on his face. For a second she almost felt glad that he had followed her, that sense of calm flowing through her once again. But the silence choked her and brought back the memory of the words he just couldn't bring himself to say.

"What do you want? Why are you following me?" she asked him cooly, looking him straight in the eye. The same look as last time and with just as much intensity. She watched as his brows furrowed in anger and a she could see the rage seethe through him, but she'd be damned if he'd make her shed another tear over him.

"I want to know where you are going in the middle of the night. I'm following you to make sure you don't get yourself killed. Satisfied?" He shot her that same smug grin and Kagome almost lost it right than and there. How could he sit there…and act as if nothing had happened!

'Because to him, nothing did happen! Remember Kagome? You heard nothing… and you saw nothing…' She reminded herself over and over again. That grin… that same grin that used to make her smile and laugh now had the effect of bringing her to her knees. But she was determined to be better than that.

"No! I am NOT satisfied! I wanted to go for a walk. By MYSELF. I don't need your protection. I can take care of myself." She was positively fuming right now. _'How dare he!' _she thought. _'You have no right to think of yourself as my protector anymore._' He couldn't even protect her from a few measly words, so how did he expect to protect her from something bigger? She turned and walked away, "Go back to the village. I don't need your protection anymore." She left him standing there; a confused and hurt expression upon his face.

She didn't want him to see or smell the tears that threatened to shed. She only prayed he had the sense to listen to her, for once in his life, and stay away like she'd told him too. For his sake as well as her own.

* * *

She'd found it… 

This clearing was her sanctuary. After stopping here one night during a run with Inu Yasha, she had fallen in love with the place…it always gave her a sense of calm. She felt at peace. But peace isn't always a good thing.

Feeling safe can lead to vulnerability.

And this clearing was where she fell apart.

Tears streamed down her face like little rivers. Silent sobs racked her body shaking her down to her very core. Every time she closed her eyes, Kikyo's words flew back cutting into her heart…and Inu Yasha's silence surrounded her…choking, preventing sleep from coming to her.

She fell over sideways into the grass with a soft thump. She hugged her sides, trying to hold it all in and to keep warm in the cool summer night.

'Why does it have to hurt so much… just let it stop…..' She pleaded with herself…with the sky…with Inu Yasha. She found the grass extremely comfy, so maybe sleep would come after all. She was grateful that no one had seen her like this. She didn't need all the questions.

Her sobs slowly began to subside, and her eyelids heavy. Suddenly grateful, she gave into the sudden wave of exhaustion that overcame her. Sleep seemed like a heavenly thing…….

* * *

She was freezing. The ice was nothing but cold to the touch. She had been in this frozen wasteland for what seemed like hours. Images of Inuyasha and Kikyo flashed all around her in the shining ice. Images of them hugging, holding and kissing came forth. She couldn't take it and closed her eyes. There was a flash of red and a sudden warmth overcame her. The scenery changed from barren wasteland to lush tropical forest. The images had transformed into those of Inuyasha and _Kagome_. Them hugging, the look of fear of when one thought the other was in danger, them kissing in Kaguya's castle. She thought back to that time. What had compelled her to kiss him like that? Did she remember from old fairy tales that the kiss of your true love would always break the spell? Or had she lost all hope and wanted a first and final kiss of remembrance? 

She was pulled out of her dream world by the sound of the birds chirping loudly. Around her, she looked, taking in the scenery. The sun had risen not that long ago. Birds chirped loudly from their nests high in the tree tops. She sat up to get a better look. Arms outstretched on either side, she noticed her left hand was not sitting on grass that was spiky, sticking upright from the earth, but grass that had been flattened. She stared at it. It looked like someone had been sitting there, but whom? She had been alone all night, had she not? She felt something graze her leg. She gave a little shriek and jump. A red cloak lay next to her leg. _Red_. Had he been there, guarding her, after she specifically told him not to? That stubborn fool. He never did listen to anything she said. She headed for the village, haori in hand, with renewed spirits. Maybe Kikyo didn't want her here, but through this small gesture, it was clear who did.

* * *

--> WingsOfAsh  
-->Co-Wrote by BetaraiL

Wow. I never thought this would turn out as well as it did.I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as BetaraiL and I did writing it.

I probably should have mentioned before that this story was a one-shot. Pure and simple. But if you would really like BetaraiL and myself to turn into a full blown story,I have one thing to say.I shall think about it and have a little chat with BetaraiL about her opinion on the matter.

Edited by: BetaraiL and Deceptress (PS--Deceptress fans,I strongly suggest that you check out her seuqel to For Love Of A Half Demon entitled Pure Bred Half Breed and her latest one-shot, Its Only Been A Day)


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